Microsoft in row with New Zealand schools

Microsoft has demanded that versions of Microsoft office be wiped from Apple machines after the company could not come to a deal with the New Zealand government.

Microsoft Office programs have been ordered to be removed from about 25,000 Apple Macintosh computers in schools. According to the New Zealand Herald the problem was caused because the Ministry of Education underestimated the numbers of Apple computers that schools had and did not have enough cash to install Office on them as well.

Education Minister Steve Maharey claimed that Microsoft insisted that the Government should pay a licence fee for all Apple Macintoshe's in schools to use Microsoft Office, even when they were only used in half the machines.The department says that schools should use Apple supplied programs similar to Microsoft Office, and Neo Office, an open-source program developed by volunteers.